Infiniti Q30 review

The premium brands conjured up by Japanese manufacturers in the 1980s to sell more cars in the US have proven remarkably averse to global success.

Carlos Ghosn’s bright idea (formulated, one imagines, not long after he considered canning Nissan’s luxury wing entirely) of turning Infiniti into the Japanese BMW has still not gained serious traction in Europe, despite a wholesale rebranding of the line-up.

Nevertheless, the Q30, demonstrates a more cogent step forward in the strategy.

It is great to see that Infiniti have stuck to the original Q30 design concept

The Q30 is a premium compact hatchback – crucial fodder in Europe if you wish to generate meaningful sales volume – and a direct product of the wide-ranging partnership that Renault-Nissan sealed with German giant Daimler several years ago.

For the purposes of this test, however, we’ll focus on the 120bhp 1.6-litre petrol motor, mated to a standard six-speed manual gearbox. The range is completed with a 2.0-litre petrol and a 2.2-litre diesel units.

At £20,550 in lower-end SE trim, the new model counts everything from a Ford Focus to an Audi A3 as a potential rival.